Traughber Named Nucleus VP

Louisville economic development director Bruce Traughber will take a new job after Mayor Jerry Abramson leaves office.

Traughber has been named the senior vice president of economic development for Nucleus effective January 3rd, 2011. Nucleus is the University of Louisville’s life sciences research arm. It will occupy the old Haymarket block downtown and is expected to house new businesses created out of science research, mostly from U of L.

It was announced earlier this month that work on the first of four buildings on the Haymarket site will begin next year. One of Traughber’s new duties will be to oversee the construction of that and the other new buildings.

Mayor-elect Greg Fischer and his transition team are currently reviewing various high-level city employees as they prepare to announce who will stay on in the new administration. Traughber reportedly told Fischer he was exploring his options and was uncertain about his future with Metro Government.

Here is the information from the mayor’s office.

Bruce Traughber, Economic Development Director for Louisville Metro Government, has been named Senior Vice President of Economic Development for Nucleus, the University of Louisville’s life sciences and innovation business development arm.

Traughber’s responsibilities will include cultivating economic development opportunities on behalf of Nucleus, as well as supervising construction of Nucleus properties, including the recently announced downtown research park at the Haymarket site. He will officially join Nucleus on January 3, 2011.

“Bruce has done a spectacular job recruiting businesses and creating jobs for Louisville Metro,” said UofL President James Ramsey. “Now, the University of Louisville’s Nucleus project will benefit from Bruce’s contacts and expertise as we continue to expand our knowledge and research-based economic development efforts.”

Traughber’s primary responsibility will be recruitment of companies interested in relocating to Nucleus facilities, and in turn working with city and state agencies creating mutually beneficial incentive packages for those firms.

“I’m excited that Bruce will be working to expand the life-sciences center at Nucleus.” Mayor Jerry Abramson said. “He has been a tremendous part of this community’s economic development success for more than two decades.”

He will interface with Mayor-Elect Greg Fischer’s economic development team, the Governor’s Economic Development Cabinet and other community and government officials critical to the process. Nucleus will also benefit from his experience in efforts to maximize the effectiveness of Nucleus’ Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. In addition, Traughber will be responsible for planning and supervising construction of Nucleus properties.

In his role as director of economic development for Louisville, Traughber managed a 140-person staff and supervised several agencies, including the Metro Development Authority, Parking Authority of River City, Air Pollution Control District and KentuckianaWorks. Prior to joining Metro Louisville government, he served as president of the Louisville and Jefferson County Riverport Authority from 1991 to 1996.

He is credited with the growth of both Riverport industrial park in the southwest part of the county, and the Hurstbourne Green office development in the eastern part. He was involved in negotiations for several notable city projects, including Fourth Street Live, the Louisville Marriott Downtown and the KFC Yum! Center.

In 2008, Traughber was elected to the Kentucky Economic Development Hall of Fame by the Kentucky Association for Economic Development. He also received the Commercial Real Estate Achievement Award in 2007.